There is a worldwide demand for individuals with skills in quantity surveying. In this profession, the choice is entirely yours, whether you would like to be in an office or rather on the construction site of the job you’re working on.
Chartered Quantity Surveyor or simply Chartered Surveyor is the name of this profession. Most quantity surveyors are connected to the RICS which is a institution based in the United Kingdom. RICS is abbreviated for Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors. There are others like the QSI or Quantity Surveyors International, Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors or ICES and more. However, only those members that are certified by the RICS can safely call themselves Chartered Quantity Surveyors.
This profession came about in the 19th century by a tradesman. This tradesman was in charge of creating a schedule for building projects which he would then submit and compete with fellow builders for the best one. These types of surveyors are practically accountants. They handle Construction Services Industry the contract and cost of civil engineering projects. These individuals are in place from the beginning of a project to the very end. Even though a Quantity surveyor has many duties, the top priority is to satisfy the costumer while meeting all the legal requirements.
The duties are very widespread. They are sometimes referred to as cost engineers or even commercial managers. They must consult with a variety of individuals to get their job done. The client is one of them but, apart from that there are the architects, lawyers, planners, Building Construction Process managers, buyers and much more. Also, quantity surveyors does not specialize in one specific area. They handle big construction projects like airports, power generation and waterway, however they also handle smaller structures like residual housing. At times, individuals in this profession may find themselves working on oi lrigs or chemical engineering plants.
In this field long hours are often required to meet deadlines but, usually Quantity surveyors work approximately 39 hours per week. They often don’t work on the weekend but it’s not uncommon when its crunch time. Part-time work is very rare, only very experience individuals choose to work part-time. This job is usually done from an office but there are times when you have to suit up in the personal safety equipment and get down and dirty on the construction sites. However, this only occurs if working on a pretty large project.
This type of work pays very well. A new trained surveyor can earn up to 327,000 pounds per year and an experienced individual can go as high as 340,000 pounds per year. Senior quantity surveyors as well as those working on projects oversees are the highest paid. There is a very high demand for quantity surveyors. They are greatly needed nationwide and oversees. There are approximately 40,000 individuals in this profession working in the United Kingdom and a few in Europe. Ads are constantly being posted on the internet with hopes of leading others to becoming a quantity surveyor.
The requirements for a Quantity surveyor are pretty straight forward. You should have very strong mathematical skills. Also, you should be one that pays close attention to detail and can budget very well. Be able to negotiate well and be able to influence others. Be knowledgeable of health and safety regulations, have very good verbal and writing skills and be able to work well with others.
This job is very challenging and requires much skill. However, work should not be very difficult to find in this field simply because there is a great need for employees. Also, in this profession, some days you can be very formal and dress for the office and other days, you can leave the formal wear at home and head out to the construction site. If you like to be busy and on the move all the time then you should consider becoming one.